In Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital (Harvard University Press), Clausing makes the argument that Americans, especially those with middle and lower incomes, face stark economic challenges due to rising income inequality and wage stagnation. But these problems do not require us to retreat from the global economy. On the contrary, an open economy overwhelmingly helps.International trade raises living standards, benefits consumers, and makes countries richer, bringing nations together. Global capital mobility helps both borrowers and lenders. International business improves efficiency and fosters innovation; and immigration remains one of America’s greatest strengths, as newcomers play an essential role in economic growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Closing the door to the benefits of the open economy would cause untold damage for Americans. Instead, Clausing outlines a progressive agenda to manage globalization more effectively, presenting strategies to equip workers for a modern economy, modernize tax policy for a global economy and establish a better partnership between society and the business community.

Kimberly Clausing is the Thormund Miller and Walter Mintz Professor of Economics at Reed College, where she teaches international trade, international finance, and public finance. Professor Clausing has received two Fulbright Research awards (to Belgium and Cyprus), and her research has been supported by external grants from the National Science Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the International Centre for Tax and Development, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. She has worked on economic policy research with the International Monetary Fund, the Hamilton Project, the Brookings Institution, and the Tax Policy Center, and she has testified before both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance.